Disciples of Ragnos crisis

The genesis of this crisis stemmed from the Empire Reborn, a splinter faction of the Imperial Remnant headed by Lord Hethrir, a former Procurator of Justice. Hethrir dedicated his existence to realizing his vision of the Galactic Empire and governing it with intensely loyal followers. To accomplish this ambition, he tasked Desann, a fallen Jedi and second-in-command of the Empire Reborn, with the creation of a Dark Army. By recruiting Force-sensitive individuals from the Empire Youth and other minions of Lord Hethrir, the Chistori Dark Jedi established the Reborn - a group of warriors artificially enhanced or imbued with the Force.

However, Kyle Katarn succeeded in eliminating Desann during the Battle of Yavin IV, and the newly-formed army of the Empire Reborn was decimated by the combined forces of the New Republic and New Jedi Order in 12 ABY. Lord Hethrir himself perished two years later, consumed by a trans-dimensional entity known as Waru. The deaths of the core members of the Empire Reborn inflicted a significant blow to the movement. The surviving Reborn coalesced under Tavion Axmis, Desann's apprentice, whose life Katarn had spared on Bespin.

With the backing of the Imperial Remnant, Tavion established a Sith cult called the Disciples of Ragnos, and the Reborn serving Tavion became known as the New Reborn. Before this, Tavion had taken the sadistic Twi'lek Alora as her apprentice and discovered an ancient Sith artifact on Commenor, called the Scepter of Ragnos. This scepter could drain Force energies from locations with residual Force power, known as Force nexuses. The scepter was vital in empowering many individuals with Force energy, these Sith Cultists constituted the majority of the Disciples of Ragnos. The cult's ultimate objective was to resurrect Marka Ragnos, one of the most esteemed Dark Lords of the Sith of all time, thereby ushering in a new era of Sith dominance.

Tavion, commanding a powerful cult with strict rules and a clear hierarchy, established trade relationships with influential mercenaries, smugglers, bounty hunters, and leaders of the Invisible Market, including Lannik Racto, a notorious crime lord from Coruscant. The cult leader hoped that her underworld connections would further destabilize the New Republic government, allied with the New Jedi Order founded by Luke Skywalker. After accumulating sufficient manpower and wealth, she began dispatching her cultists to various regions of the galaxy, instructing them to locate places with residual Force power, particularly planets tainted by the dark side of the Force. Alora and the Kothos twins, highly skilled Force users within the cult, were entrusted with these missions.

Eventually, Tavion and her followers executed a bold move, staging a surprising infiltration of Yavin 4. During this incursion, they drained Force power from one of the Massassi Temples and stole valuable data from Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum. This attack revealed the cult's existence, and thanks to the bravery of Jaden Korr, a new student known for constructing his lightsaber before even attending the Jedi Academy, the Jedi Order was alerted to the growing threat. Luke Skywalker quickly assembled numerous Jedi task forces comprising experienced masters/knights, including Kyle Katarn and Corran Horn, and promising padawans. He dispatched them on various missions to thwart the Disciples of Ragnos' plans. The headmaster of the Academy also contacted the New Republic authorities, requesting their assistance in tracking down and stopping the cultists. Jaden Korr and his new friend Rosh Penin were assigned to Kyle Katarn and instructed to participate in this extensive intelligence operation.

Skywalker understood that the Disciples of Ragnos would attempt to seize the Force powers present on worlds listed in his personal records. Discovering who was supporting the Disciples of Ragnos was also crucial for the Jedi Order. Consequently, extensive reconnaissance was undertaken across the known galaxy. The most significant missions were carried out by Jaden Korr and his master, Kyle Katarn, in the following locations:

• Mos Eisley - While investigating smuggling activity, Katarn and Korr uncovered connections between smugglers/mercenaries and the cult. Chewbacca, present on diplomatic business, aided the Jedi in defeating the criminals. [3]
• Tatooine - Katarn went to speak with a moisture farmer who had overheard a conversation about the Disciples of Ragnos in a local bar. Simultaneously, Korr extracted the R5 unit that had been sold to Jawas attacked by Tusken Raiders. The droid proved invaluable, having recorded the entire conversation. [3]
• Corellia - After receiving concerning reports from Coronet, Kyle and Jaden decided to investigate personally. They encountered mercenaries collaborating with Sith Cultists who were attempting to sabotage a maglev train. The Jedi successfully thwarted their plans. [3]
• Hoth - Korr was tasked with ensuring that the area on the desolate world where Luke Skywalker had spoken to the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi years prior was not drained of Force energies. These fears were confirmed when Jaden discovered that Imperials and Sith cultists had arrived before the Jedi Order. Nevertheless, at Echo Base, Korr decimated the enemy forces and survived a duel with Axmis's apprentice, Alora, forcing her to flee. Following this mission, Korr was promoted to the rank of Apprentice, and Skywalker learned that Dagobah, listed in the Echo Base database, would be the cult's next target. [3]
• Ruusan - Being very familiar with the Valley of the Jedi, Kyle went to inspect this location, renowned as a powerful and sacred Force nexus. Therefore, protecting it from the Cult of Ragnos was a top priority for Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order. [3]
• Zonju V - Padawan Korr was scheduled to meet a spaceport worker who had obtained crucial information about the Disciples of Ragnos, but the contact was assassinated before he could reveal anything. Jaden, under constant attack by swoop mercenaries hired by the cult, was forced to escape. [3]
• Kril'dor - New Republic Intelligence Service (NRI) agents provided intel on the Imperial Remnant supplying the Disciples of Ragnos with funds from the sale of tibanna mined from the gas giant. The joint operation between commanding officer General Wedge Antilles and Jaden Korr allowed the New Republic to defeat Imperial forces and secure the tibanna gas platform. [3]
• Coruscant - Eliminating the cult's funding sources was as important as preventing Force siphoning, so the New Republic contacted the Jedi Order to capture Lannik Racto, a Coruscanti crime boss and a major financial backer of the Imperial Remnant/Cult of Ragnos. He supplied them with illegal assassin droids through the Invisible Market. Chosen for this mission, Korr located Racto's headquarters, found an alternate entry point, defeated all security, and arrested Racto. After being apprehended, Racto revealed the location of his Nar Shaddaa droid factory to New Republic authorities, and within days, a team of NRI agents shut it down. [3]
• Dosuun - While investigating transmissions about cult activity, Jaden Korr fell into a trap set by Rax Joris, a corrupt Imperial Army officer. Joris had established a prison compound on the remote world and occasionally played sick "hide and run" games with prisoners. Kyle Katarn's apprentice was forced to participate in one of these 'special entertainment shows' but survived. In the hangar where his Z-95 Headhunter was stationed, Korr killed Joris, reclaiming his stolen lightsaber. [3]

Other missions involved different participants. Corran Horn undertook a journey to Wayland to investigate the presence of the cult or Imperial Remnant. Streen and Tionne Solusar, a Jedi history scholar, also participated in the hunt for the cult, with Tionne providing invaluable knowledge about Force-strong locations. Before Korr's visit to Byss, Rosh Penin, another of Kyle Katarn's students, was sent to scout the planet's remains. However, he was kidnapped by the cult and turned to the dark side of the Force, becoming Tavion Axmis's second apprentice.

Between the missions related to the Sith cult, the New Jedi Order had to perform their regular duties, specifically by getting involved in resolving various conflicts and problems erupting in the galaxy. On Bakura, Korr, at the request of local authorities, investigated a power station that was unresponsive. It became apparent that the station had been sabotaged by Imperial Remnant forces, who planned to use it to cause a major disaster in a nearby city. The Jedi Initiate managed to avert this tragedy single-handedly, even before his master arrived. During the mission to Blenjeel, Korr was assigned to rescue crewmembers of a crashed merchant vessel. Unfortunately, all of them had been killed by local dangerous wild beasts, sand burrowers, with the last survivor eaten in front of Korr. Based on Jaden's reports, the New Republic classified Blenjeel as a dangerous world in its database. The talented Jedi, assisted by his master, who was searching for Penin at the time, also rescued Mining Guild elders on Nar Kreeta, preventing their death at the hands of a rancor in a gambling arena owned by a local Hutt crime lord.